Justice League: Unite
by donamatter
Summary: A year since the death of superman, meta human crime is on the rise and new heroes are appearing to fill the void. Batman, feeling guilty for the death of superman, takes it upon himself to investigate a new and virulent crime wave. Batman finds himself in the middle of a greater evil, he will need to look to the help of others to overcome it.
1. In Memorium

Dark clouds marred the memorial, the whole of metropolis had filled city park to mourn the loss of their hero. Young children wore red capes in his honer, their parents lit candles and placed them at the monument. The president gave a moving address, memorialising superman as a beacon of hope and an icon to us all. From the roof of a nearby building Bruce knelt at the edge listening in to the address.

'Its been a long year,' noted Alfred.

Bruces silence was testimony to that statement, the death of superman caused a vacuum, an un-fillable void. Meta-humans were crawling out of the woodwork in droves, meta crimes were only increasing as their numbers grew. He was only one man, doing what he could to keep the people safe, but it wasn't enough. Nothing was ever enough anymore. Bruce looked down his binoculars again, observing the stage. Six members of the secret service stood behind the president, lining the memorial behind him. Security seemed pretty lax, especially considering the local crime boom of late.

The local police guarded the fenced perimeter of the park while Special forces stood guard within the park, only a few postings at either section though. The crowd numbered in the thousands, huddled together rather close considering the parks size.

'Any idea how many people are here Alfred?'

'Not a definite number i'm afraid but officials estimate almost a million people are there.'

'Thats a lot of people in one spot, perfect opportunity for an attack.'

'Expecting company?'

'If history tells me anything, I'd be stupid not to.'

As Bruce made those comments he spotted something unusual. A young man amongst the crowd reached into a backpack and pulled out a white mask. As Bruce scanned the crowd multiple people followed suit and as he panned across the crowd he caught sight of him. A masked figure dressed solely in red with a white A painted across the back of his hoodie.

'Anarky...'

Gunfire rang out across the park and civilians simultaneously began to scatter, authorities reacted but Anarchists began arriving in armoured vehicles. Anarky walked through the fleeing crowds with an armed entourage toward the president who was being evacuated by his secret service. Red smoke grenades filled the air with an eerie taint of crimson.

'The president is almost away,' noted Alfred.

'He's not after the president,' replied Bruce as he leapt from the roof.

Anarky produced his sidearm and followed his entourage to the monument, while the authorities were busy taking care of the reinforcements he got to work. A tall stone statue of Superman stood in front of him, a monument to everything he sought to disrupt. One of his men handed over a satchel, within was a timed explosive. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stiffen and he new what it meant, he placed the adhesive explosive on the leg of the statue and turned around. Thick red smoke filled the air, but within it approached a shadow.

From the smoke lunged Batman, laying a fist into the first henchmen's stomach. The others attempted to shoot the bat but his movements were too fast and unpredictable it proved pointless. Anarky set the bomb and launched a flying kick at batman to be blocked and flung down the stone steps. Anarchists were flung from the monument holding broken limbs and screaming for death. Anarky stumbled to his feet as Batman stood at the top of the steps looking down at him. In the moments gaze between them Bruce produced the bomb from under his cape and Anarchy cursed him beneath his death before taking the butt of a rifle to the head.

Anarky fell unconscious to the ground, looked over by Rick Flagg and a team of special ops soldiers. Flagg looked to the monument to find it empty.

'Fuckin freaks.'

 **Later that day...**

Bruce flung his cowl onto the work bench and slumped into the recliner chair across from Alfred and the wall of computer monitors. Alfred brought up a set of security recordings, a mass of pin striped suits breaking into the Metropolis National Bank. Alfred pushed away from the monitors and let the recordings play out, Bruce rubbed his forehead in disbelief.

'It was a distraction...'

'So it would seem, Anarky must have been paid off by Black mask to take the attention.'

The security footage showed the hostages in the main foyer of the bank, while a trio of black mask henchman guarded an explosive device. Suddenly the main door was turned to splinters and a familiar woman burst into the room. Wonder woman went to work cleaning out the henchmen and disposing of the explosive. But a rear security camera showed a team of men breaking in via the rear of the bank and taking the contents of the vault.

'Black mask owns half the banks in Gotham, why would he need to rob a bank?' asked Alfred.

'Black masks men were in the main foyer, but the ones at the rear aren't identifiable.'

Bruce stood up and focused the monitor in on the rear camera footage, the men that got out were completely dressed in black.

'Maybe our Amazonian friend could be of some assistance?' questioned Alfred.

'Black Masks my problem, I'll deal with him.'

Bruce took his cowl from the work bench and pulled it back over his head, before making down the stairs toward the bat mobile.

'And where are you going?

'To get answers!'

Bruce mantled into the bat mobile and started the engines before speeding from the cave. The black hull breached the waterfall and the wheels squealed as they transferred from dirt to tarmac. The bat mobile sped down the road bound for the glistening city in the distance.

 **Titles**

 ***JUSTICE LEAGUE***

The night set over Gotham, the whirring of sirens in the distance and blazing city lights blocking out the stars. A leather clad leg kicked open the rooftop window and flung a sack out onto the concrete. From the window climbed a thin woman dressed head to toe in a leather suit topped with pointed cat ears. From a waist belt dangled a rolled whip and a set of brown leather satchels. She lifted up her rose tinted goggles and sat them on her head. The tint of her goggles hid the bannister on the building across the gap. Atop the banister stood the dark night of Gotham, cape flapping in the mild breeze.

She stood a moment almost awe struck by his appearance before turning around and picking up her sack. As she strutted toward the other side of the rooftop the caped defender of the night swung around the side of the water tower and landed in front of her.

'Well, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me.'

'You couldn't be that lucky Selena, hand over the goods.'

'Its not like you to bother a humble cat burglar, Anybody would think you were spying on me.'

'Whats black mask planning?'

'Oh...Now the truth comes out. What makes you think I know anything?'

'Your small, not tied down. You move in and out of circles constantly, an ear to the ground.'

Cat woman strode toward Batman and dropped the sack of possessions. She wrapped an arm around the dark night and ran a finger along his exposed cheek.

'What do I get out of it?'

'Me not turning you in?'

'Hmmmm … You do drive a hard bargain Bats. Word is Black mask is planning something big, and he's not the only one. '

'Who else?'

'Joker, Penguin, scarecrow … a couple of others from outside the city. They hold meetings at the ice lounge.'

'Whens the next meeting?'

'Not a clue, I only hear whispers.'

'Whispers will do.'

Batman tore away from her and approached the edge of the rooftop. She quickly noticed batman had hold of her sack in one hand and his grappling gun in the other.

'You are honestly deplorable, hows a girl supposed to live if you keep taking her livelihood.'

'Im sure you'll manage.'

Batman jumped from the edge using his grappling hook to slow his descent. Cat woman approached the edge to peak over the edge to see the bat mobile roar to life and break into a fast getaway, roaring up the street and deep into the city centre. Catwoman pulled one of the satchels off her belt and opened it to see the jewellery inside.

'Nice try Batsy, nice try.'


	2. The Ice Lounge

'Did you see the game last night?' asked Peter, cradling his rifle.

They both walked down the cold wooden hallways, toward the great oak doors of Penguins private conference room. Two more of their colleagues stood by the door in the same horizontally stripped suits as them.

'Nah, was busy in the south district taking care of some protection income issues,' replied Tom with a grimace.

'Them damn Chinese grocers again?'

'I swear, they ask for help and then don't wanna pay up,' groaned Tom shaking his head.

Tom swung the heavily modified double barrel shotgun over his shoulder and leant against the thick bannister arching over the hall. Dan and Levi looked at each other with bewilderment;

'What in the hell are you two on about?' spat Dan with his southern accent.

'Those thin eyes down on Benthro, squealin about how much we charge for protection,' chuckled Tom.

'They live in a rough part of town, protection costs more,' shrugged Levi.

'Its Gotham, the whole place is rough!' laughed Dan slapping his partner on the shoulder.

The four broke into a bout of laughter at the comment, funny in the sense of how right it was. The laughter subsided and silence fell again, suddenly interrupted by a deep disguised voice; 'And its about to get a whole lot rougher...'

Suddenly Dan felt the weight of a man land on his shoulders and his neck rotate, his spine crunching at the angle. He fell under the weight to the floor unconscious as Batman stood in his place. Fear set over the others as the dark knight set on them, like a predator hunting its prey. Their bones broke under powerful punches and their muscles bruised. Within moments Batman lowered the the unconscious Levi to the ground to preserve the element of surprise.

'Alfred?'

'Three heat signatures behind the door, are you sure about this?

'I don't have a choice.'

He laid an armoured boot into the heavy door and flung it open to reveal a dark and featureless room. Batman slowly walked into the room, weary of what could be lurking. He could feel the cold growing greater the further he walked in. He stopped as the lights above flickered to life. At the rooms end stood a familiar hulking man in a black and white armoured suit. His head encased in a thin black balaclava only showing a pair of ghostly grey eyes. Green veins flowed through the ridges in the suit, glowing in the dimly lit room.

'Bane...'

The door slammed shut, Bruce didn't flinch as he could here the clap of heels against the floorboards and the leather clad cat woman strode around in front of him. From behind Bane emerged a young man in a full body suit lightly armoured with yellow tinted padding, along his arms and down his legs were reflective panels and on his chest was a glistening circle. The reflective plating was the trade mark of the mirror master, a small time bank robber from Central City. Batman watched him stop by Bane's side and look back to Selena who was smiling almost from ear to ear.

'Whats the matter batsy, cat got your tongue?'

Bruce stood there momentarily as it all began to piece together in his head as Alfreds voice rang through his head, 'An alarms been triggered at S.T.A.R Labs, police are on the scene!' He was outnumbered and ill-equipped, but now wasn't the time for backing away from a fight.

'Well … why are we all still standing around then?' wondered Batman.

'The bats eager for a beatdown, lets give it to him,' said Bane rubbing his knuckles together.

'Lets...'

Selena ignited the fight, swinging her leg across the vicinity of his head before having it redirected and taking a set of armoured knuckles to the ribcage. Mirror master through down an expandable mirror disappearing through it and reappearing behind the dark knight, landing a solid right hook. The blow merely angered the veteran crime fighter who retaliated with a set of body punches and a revolving kick to the side. Batman felt the vibration of the larger bane approaching and turned around to face him. Bane lunged forward with a fist raised and Batman shifted his weight backward to evade the below. He quickly ran a hand by his utility belt and collected a small explosive which he stuck to Bane's ribcage.

As he commando rolled away from the clueless Bane the small device detonated into a concussive blast that shot bane into the wall. In his moment of distraction bruce felt a whip wrap around his throat, tighten and then yank him backward into the opposite wall. The impact shocked his spine, sending pain right through his back and into his skull. A small mirror stuck to his chest plate and an arm shot from it to deliver an uppercut. As the arm retracted Bane steamed in to land a bone crunching gut punch.

The wall behind batman disappeared, pulling catwoman and batman away with it before Bane could land his punch. Bruce rolled to a halt to see the red and gold armour of Diana of Themiscera, Wonder Woman herself. Bane didn't delay on the advance, he lunged once more to land an alternate left hook but is stopped by the petite hand of Wonder Woman. She raised a leg and kicked him through the next room and out into the street.

Bruce stood up, more than surprised at her sudden arrival. Catwoman laid on the ground unconscious from the impact against the next wall, while mirror master was nowhere to be seen.

'What are you doing here?' asked Batman pulling the small reflective panel from his chest.

'I got a call from a very concerned butler.'

'Alfred?'

'I swear I am completely innocent,' joked Alfred down the suits earpiece.

'Sure. Whats the status of the break in at Star labs?'

'Perpetrators ransacked the labs, I've alerted the authorities to the situation at Ice Lounge. Return to the cave, theres something you should see.'

'Copy, on our way.'

As they exited the building through the hole in the wall Bane was laying on the ground, shrivelled and weakened. The tube running from his spine to his skull had severed on impact bleeding the venom from his system. A grimace fell over Wonder Woman's face while Batman looked on with raised eyebrows.

'He'll learn one day,' noted batman pressing a button on the inside of his forearm.

The bat mobile screamed around the corner and pulled up at his side and the topside doors raised open to reveal a duel seated cockpit.

'Care to join me?' asked Batman mantling the batmobile's side and sitting down in the cockpit.

Diana accepted his invitation and joined him, as the car took off the police arrived on the scene with 3 squad cars. As they sped through the CBD in awkward silence Diana finally worked up the courage to ask a question.

'Alfred mentioned you were reluctant to work with others, why?'

'… Its a long story …'

'We've got time.'

'Once you've been in Gotham as long as I have, you learn how much it takes from you. How much it wears your resolve.'

 **3 Years Earlier...**

'You know Barb you really should take up a job at the precinct, we could use your computer skills with these cyber-terrorists on the loose,' noted Jim as he took a sip of his cup of coffee.

'This is your first day off in months, can we talk about something other than your work?' asked Barbara sitting down next to her greying father.

'Of course … sorry … its really nice to finally sit down and relax.'

Barbara grinned at her fathers happiness and picked up the remote to turn onto the TV. The news sprung to life on the large bright screen, a young brunette woman sat at a glass desk.

'Breaking news out of Arkham tonight the Joker has escaped his solitary confinement cell and is now at large.'

Jim almost choked on his sip of whiskey, sending him into a short coughing fit as he placed the glass down. Barabara gawked at the tv with her mouth agape. Jim got up with a swift revolving movement and collected is trench coat.

'Dad no, I'm sure the guys at the station can handle this!' protested Barbarra.

'This is the Joker Barbara, not some two bit thug!'

Barbara followed her father to the door in protest. The greyed police commissioner slipped into his thick grey trench coat and took his bowler hat from the hat stand by the door. He sighed and looked at his daughter, admiring the long smooth features of her face much like her mothers.

'...Please be safe,' said Barbara conceding defeat.

'I've been doing this for 15 years, i'm sure one more night won't kill me.'

That phrase would linger at the back of his mind as he swung the door open to see a pale and emaciated man in purple flowered flannel. A pentax camera in one hand and a wooden handled revolver in the other, and a ghoulish grin on his face. Strands of toxic green hair cast down from under a wide brim straw hat.

'J...Joker?'

'Smile Commissioner!'

Barbara spun around to cover her father as the barrel of the handgun ignited with the propulsion of a bullet. Barbara doubled over with a scream of agony and her father caught her in cradle as blood seeped out onto his hands. Joker stood in the doorway laughing fit to kill himself, as the barrel of his gun smoked. Jim felt sick in his gut, his brain a muddle of emotion and surprise. Before he could gather himself he was struck across the head with the body of the revolver. He dropped Barbara and fell forward unconscious before being dragged away by two henchmen that emerged from the shadows.

The Joker walked passed Barbara as she convulsed and bled on the floor. He stood by the kitchen bench and felt beneath its lip to find a small pager like device. He pulled it out and pressed down on the only button along the devices glass face. The button triggered a greyscale bat symbol to pulsate, sending out a signal to infamous dark night.

'Better than any emergency service I know,' chuckled the Joker.

He carried the pager over the barely conscious Barbara and waved in front of her face with a grin on his pale face, 'Don't worry deary … help is on the way!' He screamed with laughter as he threw the device down and walked out of the room without closing the door.

It took only a few minutes for Batman and his offsider, Robin, to arrive and find the horrific scene. Within minutes she was at Gotham General Hospital in Batmans arms and sent straight into the operating theatre.

The young robin waited on the roof of the hospital, fiddling with a small birdarang, impatiently waiting for Batman to return. His knee length cloak flapped in the wind and the hood warmed his neck in the chilled Gotham breeze. Batman rounded the roofs edge and approached him with a bland expression.

'How is she?'

'She'll live, but her chances of walking are slim.'

'… I'll kill him,' said Robin shaking his head and sliding the birdarang back in its pocket.

'That's not how this works.'

'Like hell it isn't! You've let him run loose for years, how many dead? How many lives ruined? Now he cripples one of your own and what? You'll put him away into a corrupt penitentiary and wait until he's loose again.'

'I know its hard for you to grasp, but killing people isn't the answer. Once you cross that line you never come back!'

Robin stepped up to the tall dark night and looked him in his deep blue eyes with all the soul he could muster;

'Maybe I don't wanna come back?'

He pushed past him and stood by the edge of the roof, Batman took a step forward with his emotionless jowl turning to a concerned look.

'Don't do this, he'll be waiting for us, we have to strategise.'

'To hell with strategising, I was taught to kill, so thats what I'll do.'

'Robin No!'

With that he dived off the edge of the building, Batman motioned to grab his cloak but was met with thin air.

'Damien!'


End file.
